Category Archives: Holiday Recipes

Happy New Year Brisket – perfect for Passover

Posted on March 25, 2026 | Leave a comment

Brisket can definitely be an intimidating thing to make. I once made it as a young cook, and it was perfectly inedible. Back then, I couldn’t believe how long it took to cook, but it does take very long. Now I usually make it in the slow cooker which is an awesome way to go but this time I used my trusty Le Creuset, which worked out beautifully. A lot of people have some pretty awesome brisket recipes and I welcome you to send me yours. This really couldn’t be any easier and it’s super tasty. This original recipe came from my friend, Michele (with a few comments from Karyn too.) I did change a few things to the original recipe, but not a lot and I thank Michele for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

4 lb. brisket (I didn’t need larger but you can adjust this recipe for whatever size brisket you use)

Lawry’s seasoned salt available in the spice aisle

2 large Spanish onions (Karyn uses Vidalia, which is also good), sliced thickly

2 cans of tomato sauce , I used the 16 oz. size. You can also use the 1 can of 28 oz. size. It depends on you and how much sauce you like.

2 tbsp. brown sugar (this is my addition. It doesn’t really change the flavor so much as cut the salt a bit)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I sprinkled Lawry’s seasoned salt on both sides of the brisket (generously) then seared it in the Le Creuset pot with a little vegetable oil–probably about a tablespoon. (After the meat was seared, it shrunk to fit perfectly in my pot but I don’t think that a larger brisket would have fit.) Next, I added the tomato sauce and onions, covered the pot and put it in the oven. I cooked it for a total of 3 hours. I checked on it after each hour, which probably wasn’t even necessary. I then let it cool, off of the heat, for about an hour. Next, I sliced it with an electric knife, which came out beautifully. The meat was soft, but not falling apart at all. I then added the brown sugar to the gravy, put the brisket in a container with the gravy and froze it. I’ll take it out the night before I serve. Karyn pulses her gravy with an immersion blender. I didn’t do this but I think it makes for a good suggestion. In fact, I might still do it next time I make this recipe.  I’ll let you know. Thanks again Michele and Karyn!

  • I also use an electric knife to cut my brisket –I find it works best (worth the investment and a rather inexpensive one at that–you’ll have it for years)

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Peach Farfel for Passover – crowd favorite

Posted on March 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

 
This is most definitely a “must have” Passover recipe.  It has been a winning no no recipe ever since my friend Audrey gave it to me many years ago. This one is probably one of the most favorite Passover staples. Recipes are funny in that -they tend to spread out to a wide group of people and people start passing them down to their people and so forth and so on and before you know it no one remembers where the original recipe came from , they just remember that it was on their Passover table and they can’t imagine a Seder dinner without it.  Enjoy this one; it is sweet and makes for a delicious side dish with poultry or beef. This has always been a crowd pleaser. I know, the amount of eggs is obscene on this holiday! This one has 7 eggs in it!!!!!

Make this part of your Passover tradition, you’ll be happy you did.

Follow me on Instagram @cookingwithcandi and please DM me or email me any questions or comments — I look forward to hearing from all of you. Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours .

  • as I said I have never froze this particular recipe but I would cook 1/2 way so it’s in a more solid form and then wrap well and freeze. If you’re lucky enough to have an extra freezer and can freeze in the original baking dish even better.

Ingredients:

1 box matzoh farfel (I think it’s in a canister now) you will need 16 ounces of the farfel

2 15 oz. cans sliced peaches

7 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks margarine, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

4 cups hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place dry farfel in a bowl, then pour hot water over it. Let stand until absorbed.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, syrup from peaches, salt, sugar, margarine, and vanilla. Add farfel and combine well. In a well sprayed 9 x 12 baking dish, pour 1/2 the mixture, then arrange a layer of peaches on top. Add remaining mixture on top, then top with remaining peaches. Sprinkle with just a bit of cinnamon if you’d like. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve hot out of oven, or room temp. It is quite delicious at room temperature, if you don’t have the room in your oven, and it makes for a pretty awesome leftover.

Can be assembled, cooked 1/2 way through, then cooked the rest of the way through on the day of the holiday.

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Posted in Dairy, Holiday Recipes, Kugel, meatless, Passover Recipes, Pudding

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Homemade Chicken Soup with Not-So-Homemade Matzo Balls

Posted on March 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

IMG_4514I always make my own chicken soup. It is delicious broth. I usually make a few batches and freeze them because it’s a great thing to have frozen in quart containers as stock and will last for up to six months frozen. When the holidays come—whether Rosh Hashanah or Passover—I always make my chicken soup with matzo balls. I make the soup a day ahead and skim whatever fat is on there before adding my matzo balls. Keep reading for my “secret matzo ball recipe”.

INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN STOCK:

1 5lb. organic roasting chicken (I throw away the insides)

1 package of chicken wings (this was suggested to me a long time ago by my BFF Karyn and she was oh so right. It adds some fat, which translates into a lot of flavor and you will skim off the fat the next day. Thanks, Karyn…yes, I remembered!)

1 large, yellow Spanish onion; unpeeled and quartered

A big bunch of dill

4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds

4 carrots, unpeeled and halved

Bunch of flat-leaf parsley (Use this only if you want. This time, I didn’t have it so I used only the dill.)

A bunch of thyme (if you wish)

1 head of garlic, cut in half cross-wise (skin and all)

2 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS FOR SOUP:

I place the chicken, chicken wings, onion, carrots, celery, whatever herbs I’m using, garlic, salt and pepper in as large a  pot as I can find (usually about a 16-20 qt. stockpot.) Add cold water to cover chicken by at least 2 inches above the chicken but not to the top of the pot because it will boil over (very messy). Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for about 3 hours. I skim the soup skum (sounds lovely) off for the first half hour or so—after that, you shouldn’t have much more. I remove the chicken from the broth after an hour or so, because it is cooked and it will taste like a rubber chicken if you plan on eating it. Sometimes, I like to shred it and return it to the soup. If you are not using the chicken (what a waste of good chicken), just leave it in. It will fall apart in there. I leave the wings and discard them at the end of the 3 hours. Next, I strain all of the soup, discard all remnants, fill my containers and put in the fridge. The next day (or the day of the holiday), I usually skim off the fat that has risen to the top and make my matzo balls (recipe below).

MATZO BALLS:

This has always been my secret, but now it’s out. Okay, I own it. After years of making matzo balls from scratch, my mother (yes, my mother, the cook) turned me on to Manischewitz boxed matzo ball mix! It just wasn’t worth it. My balls weren’t as consistent as I would have liked, whereas these are always perfection! Light and fluffy and everyone always loves them. No sinkers here!

I follow the directions on the box carefully. They sell just the mix box. You will need vegetable oil and 2 eggs per box. I do add a little piece of dill inside each ball, but that’s it! Now my secret is out. Sometimes this is really the only way to go. It saves time and ingredients and is really good. No MSG or trans-fats either! So make the soup, cheat with the balls, and enjoy. There is no substitute for homemade chicken soup, though.

*You can also add thin soup noodles to this recipe, if you like. (obviously not on Passover)

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Posted in chicken, Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Passover Recipes, soup, Uncategorized

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Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset–Apple/Walnut

Posted on March 21, 2026 | 2 comments

DSCN2703This is my easiest Charoset to make — all in the food processor.   It’s traditional in the sense that it’s an Ashkenazi (Eastern European) recipe. I add a little brown sugar instead of white sugar and it gives it just a bit more character. Remember, while a reminder of the mortar used in making bricks for Pharaoh, charoset is really just a sweet condiment of apples and wine! And we love it on Matzoh!

Have a Sweet Passover !

Ingredients:

3 medium Fuji apples (or any other kind you like), peeled, cored and finely diced (use processor to make your life simpler) I usually use whatever is in the house, but on Passover I go through so many apples, so buy what you like (I always like Granny Smith because they are nice and tart)

1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (buy them pre-chopped)

1/2 cup sweet red wine such as Manischewitz Extra Heavy Malaga or just Concord Grape is fine

*20 pitted dates, chopped; or 1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

*for a bit of extra added flavor you can add 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger (optional)

Directions:

After chopping apples, stir all ingredients in a large bowl. Keep in refrigerator ’til ready to serve. Serve at room temperature. You can also pulse everything together in processor, just be very careful not to over-process. I often do this to save time. You don’t want it too fine, so just go gently with the processor if you go that route. I do it in the processor, and I know exactly how I like it to come out, so go easy with the chopping.  If it’s a little dry or too thick, you can always add more wine. I find this always tastes better after it sits and allows the wine  to really soak and ripen for 24 hours. Before serving, check for consistency and add a little more wine, if necessary.

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Posted in condiment, Holiday Recipes, Passover Recipes, Raw, sides, vegetarian

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Classic Potato Pancakes –Latkes

Posted on December 2, 2025 | 1 comment

Chanukah will be here starting on Sunday , December 14 -and ending Monday, December 22 2025–Here is my recipe for delicious Potato Latkes.

It is a delicious fairly easy recipe for simple latkes. If you eat them hot they’re best but that’s tough to do sometimes. They really are most delicious hot off the frying pan. Serve with Applesauce or Sour Cream . Enjoy and Happy Chanukah from my kitchen to yours. I do have a delicious recipe for homemade apple sauce on my blog if you’re feeling inspired to make it along side the potato pancakes. Homemade Apple Sauce is it’s title and just put that into the search bar or google homemade apple sauce cooking with Candi .

This is what I do with a food processor and Happy Chanukah

This recipe should serve 4

Ingredients:

2 large Russet Potatoes — peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters

1 large Spanish Onion–peeled and cut into quarters

2 large eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 Teaspoon baking powder

Vegetable Oil for frying

Directions:

Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer the mixture to a clean dishtowel ( I prefer a thin one for this task) and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This is key to a delicious latke.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder and pepper and mix until the flour is absorbed.

In a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot use a heaping tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. Use a spatula to flatten and shape into round discs. When edges of the latkes start to brown and get crispy ( about 5 minutes) , transfer the latkes to a paper towel lined plate to drain . Repeat.

If you’re making double the recipe I would swap out the oil and wipe with paper towel and start with fresh oil. For one batch the oil was fine. Just control the heat on your stove.

Enjoy and Happy Chanukah.

 

 

 

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Posted in Chanukah, Holiday, Holiday Recipes

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Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Posted on November 24, 2025 | 1 comment

I always have a fresh cranberry sauce on my Thanksgiving table, and I buy extra bags of fresh cranberries and throw them in the freezer so I can make it whenever I want to. It’s tart and sweet at the same time, and why would you buy the canned stuff when you can do this so quickly and easily. It’s delicious with all poultry. Buy a few bags of fresh cranberries, they are all over the place now. If you have the room throw a few bags in the freezer.

Ingredients:

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Directions:

Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil, dump in whole bag of cranberries (12 oz) bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. I let it sit a little off the heat and then refrigerate, this is so easy. Keeps for a pretty long while in fridge, and can def be made way ahead of the big day. For Thanksgiving I use 2 bags because it is my second Cranberry Dish.  Since it’s really just a relish 2 bags is enough. Just double . Depending on how many people you’re having, for just the 2 of us I make cranberry sauce using one bag and keep excess in fridge , it keeps for a while.  Happy Thanksgiving!

*as it’s just a relish 1 bag would probably serve 6-8  and 2 bags would probably serve 10-12

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Posted in Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides

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Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes (gotta have ’em)

Posted on November 23, 2025 | Leave a comment

1/2 eaten Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

1/2 eaten Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

pre marshmallow topping

We always have to have a sweet potato dish with those darn marshmallows! This has a little twist which makes it a bit more interesting. It’s easy, tasty and unique, because I make it with both marshmallows and pecan halves on top. There are probably a million different recipes for mashed sweet potatoes, but this one goes on my table this year.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks. Cook Sweet Potatoes (If you want to cheat with the canned ones, I won’t tell anyone, and what’s more is no one will know with all the other stuff in it.) Just drain them well.

1/2 cup whole milk (no skim please)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (when I double I just add 2 tblsp. butter no need to add 8)

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

20 big marshmallows or mini marshmallows ( as many as you can fit on top)

*40 pecan halves to cover top (you can use only marshmallows if you want) completely optional with the nuts we don’t do it

*cooking fresh sweet potatoes -Prep and wash potatoes –to expedite cooking –peel and cut into chunks before boiling or you can boil them whole and peel afterward

Place in a large pot and cover potatoes with cold water

Bring to a boil

Reduce heat and cover and simmer anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes

Drain and cool — then mash and use in your desired recipe

Directions:

Cover sweet potatoes with cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are knife tender. Drain and return to pot. Mash potatoes with a masher, then stir in milk, butter, pineapple, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

Transfer mixture to a 2 1/2 quart oval casserole dish, smooth out on top. If you want to make a checkerboard top, start at the top left, and alternate one marshmallow with 2 pecan halves until the entire casserole is covered. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until marshmallows are browned and puffed. If you don’t feel like doing the checkerboard, you can also sprinkle mini marshmallows on top, or some large ones. Whatever you like. This is pretty loose, but you gotta have marshmallows!

*one little tip when making a day ahead which is what I do. I assemble the sweet potatoes and I refrigerate as is till day of Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving when I am ready to put in oven, I put in oven at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour then add the marshmallows till they brown up. Also be careful with aluminum foil on top of cooked marshmallows because they tend to stick to the foil.

*this recipe serves about 8 – 10 as a side

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Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

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Banana Pudding from Magnolia Bakery – One of my Top Ten Desserts that you don’t even bake

Posted on November 22, 2025 | Leave a comment

Since the first time my daughter Jenn made this dessert we have added it to our Thanksgiving Table. Just what you need after that big dinner is this dessert!!! We love it and can’t get enough of it. Whether you’ll be making it for Thanksgiving or anytime just be prepared to fall in love with it. Completely decadent and totally ridiculous in calories and richness it is love at first bite.

It is actually a subtle taste of bananas, but I wouldn’t make this if I didn’t like bananas. I happen to just adore bananas and I absolutely love love this pudding. I cannot have it in the house because I will continually find an excuse to go into the fridge and eat it till it’s pretty much all gone.  As full as I was last year and swearing I wasn’t going to eat another thing for at least a week, when I saw this  pudding I knew I was going to eat it.  I find it impossible to resist and I know others who suffer from this same fate. If you’re in the market for a purely decadent rich over the top dessert then this is it for you. Probably up there on my top ten desserts ever. This is from the More from Magnolia Cookbook so how could it be bad?

*this recipe really needs time , so you must start the day before to let initial pudding set, and then you’ll need at least 4 more hours minimum before serving. So you must factor time into your prep of this awesome pudding but it’s so worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours.

Ingredients:

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 1 /2 cups ice-cold water

1 3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix ( preferably Jell-O brand)is there another brand?

3 cups heavy cream

1 12 ounce box Nabisco Nilla Wafers ( no substitutions) is there another brand?

4 cups sliced ripe banana

Directions:

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and cold water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more.* Cover and refrigerate for 3 – 4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer , whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remains.

To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl ( preferably glass) with a 4 – 5 quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, over-lapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding . ( Just crush up a few remainder cookies in food processor) Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for *4 hours–or up to 8 hours, but no longer! Serve and behold the love!

Serves anywhere from 12- 15

It’s a large dessert and a substantial one. It stands alone beautifully!

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Posted in dessert, no bake dessers, Pudding, Thanksgiving

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Pumpkin Penne Bake

Posted on November 18, 2025 | 1 comment

IMG_9874IMG_9875

I like to have a pasta dish every year at my Thanksgiving dinner and it’s a good one for all the vegetarians out there.  This is a delicious baked pumpkin penne. I am going to make it on the Monday before Thanksgiving and freeze it without putting the mozzarella cheese on top.  I will take it out of freezer Wednesday night and Thursday will  put cheese on top and bake till bubbly , you’ll want to make certain that it is completely defrosted and room temperature before putting it in the oven.  I will keep aluminum foil on it to re-heat and take off foil for last 20 minutes or so till it gets slightly brown.   It should start bubbling and to check for readiness put a fork right in the middle . If it needs more time and is getting too browned put foil back on and continue heating it up. You will cook it at 350 degrees as directions state.

One of the best things about baked pasta dishes is that they freeze so well. Making them some of the easiest dishes to prepare ahead. This whole thing including chopping up sage took maybe 1/2 hour to prep. My kind of dish!

As a side dish it should serve about 10-12 .

Ingredients:

1 box (1 lb.) penne pasta, cooked and drained well– cavatappi or rigatoni will work fine too.

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling

3 – 4  cups shredded mozzarella, divided , I used about 3 cups in pasta and another 1 cup on top. ( 2 packages 8 oz. shredded cheese) you’ll have a little left over

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine cooked penne, pumpkin,  2  cup- 3 cups mozzarella, heavy cream, sage, salt and garlic powder. Stir to combine. Taste for salt.

Transfer mixture to a greased or well sprayed 3 quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted. Since I was freezing I pulled it out after 20 minutes, cooled it down and wrapped it tightly and put in freezer.

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Posted in Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, pasta, Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding

Posted on November 11, 2025 | 1 comment

This has to be one of my all time favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving. It really would be great any time of year but for some reason it only gets made for Thanksgiving. It’s super easy and super delicious. My friend Audrey gave this recipe to me many years ago, and it has become a staple on our thanksgiving table ever since. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it. It is a favorite in our family. Can be doubled easily, just make sure your baking dish is large enough.

Enjoy!

This one is very special and a real winner! and super easy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (unsalted) 1 stick

1 8 oz. sour cream (lite is OK  but not fat-free)

1 8 oz.  can sweet corn (drained)

1 8 oz. can creamed corn (not drained)

1 8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter, mix in beaten eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Pour into glass baking dish (Pyrex is good and I spray it first with a good cooking spray like Pam or Bakers Aid ) 9 x 12 works fine, it’s not a very deep pudding.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

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Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

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